David Cho
David joins ATHENAVB after a decade away from the sport spent coaching his two sons’ other sports teams. He last coached the junior summer camps at the University of Washington under the guidance of Jim McLaughlin, the only coach to win both a Men’s and Women’s Division I NCAA Championship, the USC Men in 1990 and the University of Washington Women in 2005.
That month long experience is the core of David’s coaching philosophy and style. He had the opportunity to learn and teach Jim McLaughlin's version of Gold Medal Squared to 12U beginners and 18U elite players. David played outside hitter in full team scrimmages with the Washington players to demonstrate the skills they were teaching to the campers and it was the highest quality volleyball he has ever experienced. The camps had 4 future All-Americans as players or campers and this team would win an NCAA title 3 seasons later.
David grew up in upstate New York and played for the Rochester Pace Bootlegger Volleyball Club, one of the premier junior boys clubs in the country. He played with the full progression of teams there from 16-2 to 16-1 to 18-2 to 18-1 and believes that his 16-2 and 18-2 experiences as a freshman and junior were the most critical seasons to his development as a player.
David had the high school season of his dreams as a senior leading Pittsford Sutherland HS (Rochester, NY) to the Class A (Large School) Section V (City) and Intersectional (State) Championships and was named MVP of the New York State Intersectional Tournament.
David has spent the last decade coaching his two sons’ basketball, soccer, baseball, and lacrosse teams and their transition to club sports has allowed David to return to coaching volleyball.